In May, a bill that makes it harder for parents to receive exemptions for their children to go without the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine due to their personal or philosophical reasonings was passed by the Washington state Legislature.
The bill took effect on July 28, and it applies to children in private schools and daycares. Not only does the bill affect children but, according to the Washington State Department of Health, it also requires employees and volunteers at day care centers to provide proof of immunization or proof of immunity. Children who are already protected by the religious and medical exemption laws, will not be affected. The bill will not alter the previous law. Further, the new bill won’t affect vaccines other than the MMR vaccine.
This bill is Washington state’s way of protecting itself from the recent major measles outbreak across the United States, keeping ourselves strong and healthy.
This bill affects children, parents and child care employees statewide. But here on campus at SFCC, we have our very own daycare, in building 29. So how does this impact our daycare?
“So, what it does is, it’s not actually making it more difficult for them to receive that exemption,” Kimberly Pratt, the Early Head Start Specialist, for all of Spokane Community Colleges, said. “The plan behind it is to create protection for everyone, those who cannot receive it for medical reasons and who do receive it … based around the concepts of herd immunity. The more of us that are immune and protected, the more we can protect those that can’t be protected.”
There would be a possibility of children who aren’t vaccinated to not be allowed to attend daycare, if it weren’t for some major details in the law. “A child is required to be vaccinated against (mumps, measles, rubella) or show proof that they are immune.” But also, Pratt said “It (state law) says we can enroll children without those immunizations on a temporary basis.” “The important piece of that is the parent either has to have in writing … from the provider that says when the child’s next appointment is, and what they are going to do at that appointment, as far as immunizations go.” They have 30 days from their first day of attendance to get them immunized.
This affects our own campus day care in the sense that parents can still admit their children if they aren’t vaccinated. If parents have proof of visiting the doctor and a record kept of checkups, then the child can continue being a part of the daycare system. This does however threaten the impact that herd immunity plays in the daycare. The less kids that are vaccinated, the more the children who can’t get vaccinated are at risk.
In turn, the rate of attendance has not dropped, seeing that there are other options for parents, who don’t have the time, money or resources to get their child vaccinated. If a parent would like to protect their child, but can’t due to outside factors, this temporary stance helps with that. The major effect this has on the day care really comes out during an outbreak.
“So anytime there is an outbreak, anyone who’s not immunized fully, will face something called exclusion” Pratt said. “They (children) are excluded from the program. And they will not be able to come back until they are fully immunized, or that disease has passed.”
This law has played a small but effective role for the day care. Some parents who previously could choose to exempt their child or children for personal reasons are now implored to vaccinate their child. If the parents work and need their kid to be in day are for the day, but aren’t vaccinated, some parents have chosen to vaccinate so they can continue to have their child taken care of and looked after whilst they are busy for the day.
In the future, Pratt sees mandatory immunizations as a possibility. A goal that needs to be carefully approached, as to not infringe upon removing parents free choice, but reached nonetheless. “What I would love is for everyone to be able to read their research on both sides of this and make educated decisions on whether or not the immunizations are right for them or not,” Pratt said.”I do want people to be safe…by being able to read and make conscious decisions.”
Our state is impacted as a whole, but our SFCC day care is safer. In many eyes, this is a touchy topic. While few believe that passing a law compelling many parents to vaccinate their kids is not the right choice, others feel safer and more protected, themselves, their children and now their community. In the future, viewpoints, laws and protocols will be different, but for now, our day care here on campus works hard every day to care for and protect all children.